Ding Junhui cruises into second round at snooker UK Championships

LONDON - China's top snooker player Ding Junhui smoothly reached the second round of the UK Championships after beating Duane Jones 6-2 in York on Wednesday.

Ding trailed behind 1-2 after the opening three frames but leveled with a 103 break in the fourth frame. The current world number 16 then won four frames in a row to wrap it up.

"Duane played well. He beat me last time in Masters. He got a lot of confidence. We can see at the start he played good safety and make breaks," said the 32-year-old Ding. "But after frame five when I led 3-2, the game changed a little bit."

Earlier this month, Ding suffered first-round loss at Northern Ireland Open. In October's English Open, He also failed to reach the second round.

"Winning is always good. I'm looking forward to winning more matches in York," said Ding.